Search Results for: blog all about layaway

Holiday Shopping: Is Layaway Right for Parents?

Parents comprise the bulk of holiday shoppers. No surprise there. I don’t know many moms or dads who look forward to disappointing their flesh and blood on Christmas morning. On the contrary, the majority of parents–regardless of their socioeconomic status–are willing to do just about anything to ensure their children enjoy a very merry holiday. Despite the fact that millions of Americans are out of work and the economy is still in the dumpster, retailers are still pushing their wares–mostly to pint-sized customers. So what’s a cash-strapped parent to do when her kid’s wish list is taller than the actual … Continue reading →

Layaway Goodwill

A lot of the news in a green blog can be negative – bad air, too much trash, animal abuse, and unfair trade. But, today, I am going to write about a positive trend happening this holiday season. With the current dire financial straits, many have been struggling to give presents to their family for the holidays. In fact, something has come back that I thought was gone forever – layaway. As a kid growing up in the ‘70s, all the moms I knew used layaway. That was the system where Kmart (we didn’t have access to a Wal-Mart at … Continue reading →

Using Layaway? Here is What You Need to Know

This holiday season, it seems that every store is pushing layaway. This makes good business sense. With the economy the way it is, cash flow for many families can be tight. Also, time is limited. With layaway, shopper can get all of their gifts at one time, and then have the luxury of paying them off a little at a time. If you decide to use a layaway program, there are some things that you should know. This way, you won’t wind up losing money on the deal. First of all, check the store policy on layaway. Do you have … Continue reading →

Is Layaway Your Way to a Debt Free Holiday?

It is Halloween, and it seems as if holiday merchandise has been creeping its way onto store shelves for about a month now. In fact, today we received a toy catalog from Kmart with images of Christmas trees and jingle bells all over it. The next two months are not only a busy time of year, but they can be expensive too. I have noticed lately that stores like Wal Mart, Kmart, and others are advertising that they now offer layaway. When I was younger (back in the 80’s) I remember seeing signs in the stores for layaway. I do … Continue reading →

Layaway

My husband and I are considering a move to Arizona. Among the excitement about the adventure of living in a new state, I am anxious to have a gas clothes dryer again. I am not even a little bit dreading shopping for new appliances. Sears is running a commercial offering layaway on major appliances and it makes me a little nostalgic. My family took advantage of layaway a lot while I was growing up. With layaway you could put a deposit down on your purchase and make payments at agreed upon intervals until the purchase was paid for. When the … Continue reading →

All About Layaway

Putting items on layaway seem to many to be a quaint tradition of Christmas past, much the same as the bank Christmas Club savings account. With the easy availability of both band and store credit cards, layaway went out of fashion. By did you know that there are still many large stores that offer layaway plans? And a layaway plan may be a great option to help you avoid credit card debt. What is layaway? With layaway, you are able to purchase a product and then pay it off gradually. You don’t actually take possession of the item until it … Continue reading →

Another Pitfall of Hard Economic Times

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In addition to the risk of your gift cards becoming worthless, another consideration must be taken when shopping during tougher economic times. This is to remember that no matter how big or impressive a retailer is, they still can go under. What does this mean for you? Be careful of buying anything into the future. Certainly, a gift card is one example of buying into the future. So are gift certificates. These are actually samples of unsecured loans. You are giving the retailer a loan for your future purchase. If they go bankrupt, typically unsecured loans only receive a payback … Continue reading →

Playaway Digital Books

Our library has a new item called “Playaways”. These are pre-loaded digital audio books. The playaway device is a 2 ounce box. It’s smaller than an altoid tin so the device can be tucked into a pocket. It comes with an attached lanyard so the listener can wear the playaway device like a necklace. It uses a AAA battery. You will also need a pair of earphones. All in all, I like my Ipod Nano better. Our library also offers e-books for downloading. But the playaways are a nice alterative. The ability to “bookmark” passages is a definite plus. You … Continue reading →

Three Ways to Avoid Holiday Debt

It is easy to start racking up the debt during the holiday season. There are many demands on our money, such as holiday gifts, special events, travel costs, food, decorations, and other entertaining costs. We often get carried away when we spot the perfect gift or want to make it the best season ever. As you are planning, cooking and shopping, you might want to use the following strategies to avoid holiday debt. Start with a Holiday Budget In order to control holiday spending instead of letting holiday spending control you, you will need to set a budget. Start with … Continue reading →

Are You Ready for the Holiday Hysteria?

“Turducken,” “Festivus,” and now, “OctoNovemCember”. Let the holiday cra-zy begin. Oh, wait, it already has. In fact, seeing Target’s new Christmas commercial last night is nothing compared to seeing Santa stockings hanging next to Halloween candy in Wal-Mart on the day after the 4th of July. Okay, maybe it was July 9th. Regardless, mega-popular couponing website, RetailMeNot.com has come up with a new term for the holiday-inspired retail frenzy which seems to start earlier and earlier each year. The new trademarked catchphrase: “OctoNovemCember.” Get it? To help those who aren’t quite there yet, the company has created a matching mascot … Continue reading →